Chapter Text
Year 4
The wooden desk in Prendergast’s class that had previously only “ L + N ” written on it, was now embroidered with an additional plus and your initial. Over the summer, your trio had gotten closer; and by wintertime, you three were inseparable. With colder times came lessons that seemed to go on for hours, and admiring what was outside the window was practically impossible since it was getting dark just around the afternoon. And this particular February day was no different.
You scanned the class with your eyes and started to scribble your thoughtful reflections on the first piece of parchment you managed to get your hands on. Leta was being her marvelous self while sitting on the opposite side of the classroom. You didn’t have many lessons together, so you admired every time you were accompanied by her warm presence. After all, hallway meetings unquestionably weren’t enough for both of you. Prendergast was pacing around the room, speaking in a deep Irish accent. No one seemed to be paying much attention, however, that did not stop the man from depicting his subjective opinions about the wizarding world. And Newt was nowhere to be seen.
Well, not for long at least. Soon enough he fell through the hefty, ebony door and gained the attention of both your peers and the professor. Everyone knew that Newt certainly wasn’t Prendergast’s favorite, and vice-versa. Your friend, true to his timid nature, frequently avoided the man’s gaze and pretended to not hear his unpleasant comments. Unfortunately for Newt, not standing out amongst the other wizards was almost impossible. He would often show up late, covered in all sorts of stains from taking care of his magical beasts. Prendergast appeared to get more worked up with each lesson. And today, it seemed like they both reached a breaking point. It took them less than five minutes to start having a heated discussion in the class forum, completely ignoring the existence of other wizards. And it seemed to be getting more intense second by second.
“Mr. Scamander, once you crossed the threshold of my classroom I expect you to behave accordingly!” Prendergast hissed through gritted teeth. “There is no place for strange creatures and your premature antics.”
“There are no strange creatures, only blinkered people.” Newt blurted out almost immediately.
The whole classroom seemed to have gone silent, except for the few whistles and “Oh’s” in the background. You quickly averted your gaze to now astonished Leta, who was looking right back at you. Seeing the professor’s face beaming red with anger, you two knew one thing - this wasn’t going to end well.
-
“A month? Month? In detention?!” You were jaw-dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Leta sighed and propped her face with one hand. “No, Y/N, I’m positive about this. Prendergast is an awfully powerful man.”
You were both sitting in the comfort of the cupboard once only you stored your animals in, now mostly occupied by Newt’s proteges. “Poor beings.” You thought, aware of their separation from the primary caregiver. Sitting on the edge of the windowsill, swinging your legs around, you were infuriated - Leta positioned right by your side. After a moment of confining silence, you loudly spoke up. “I just don’t understand why he would expose himself so willingly!”
Lestrange moved away from the window and closer to you, giving you a heartfelt smile. It wasn’t pitiful, it seemed more… politely disagreeing? “I would assume you, out of all the wizards, should know it very well.” She squeezed your hand, which you now realized was trembling. “You both would do absolutely anything and everything for your creatures.”
“I guess you’re right…” Your anger started to slowly die down. A new feeling started to arise, it was one of the more vengeful ones. You wanted revenge and you wanted it now.
Leta noticed your fast-paced train of thought and questioned, “What’s on your mind, hm?”
“Do you know how to craft a Dungbomb?”
-
The odor of the invention you and Leta amateurishly put together was disgustingly praise-worthy. You were trying to work as a team, keeping yourselves cool, collected, and most importantly - quiet. You had little time and a lot of adrenaline pumping through you, yet craving the feeling of sweet revenge turned out to be the strongest factor. Leta stayed by the classroom’s door, looking out for unwanted visitors. You played the more complicated part, placing the bomb under Prendergast’s desk. To your contentment, it went off just as he sat down right next to it. Unfortunately, your clumsy nature prevented you from getting away with what you just did. Running away from the source of the stench, you tripped and ended up on the floor; Leta quickly followed in your footsteps, ending up face flat-faced on the ground right beside you. The professor quickly put two and two together. Another aspect completely incriminating you were your hands, covered in a mousy color from carrying the self-made bomb.
Surprisingly, walking through the corridor while being aware you were heading straight to the Detention Chamber, wasn’t as shameful as you would have originally thought. You exchanged satisfied looks with your friend on the way while Prendergast continually screamed, trying to reprimand you. By the end of the road, he just sighed and pointed at the chamber’s door, ordering you to pass through it.
Located in the Passage of the Fouls, the whole interior of the room seemed dull and freezing. When you entered through the gates, you were met with the one thing making this entire place warmer and more tolerable. Auburn-haired persona, sitting in the poorly lit corner. His whole expression seemed to change in a matter of seconds. At first, it was confusion and utter shock. Then, a relief washed over his features, as he realized he wasn’t alone. And lastly, more confusion followed.
-
You didn’t know who spoke up first, but the initial small talk swiftly turned into a humongous conversation about your and your comrades' lives. You discussed the sweet and the sour, the good and the ugly. Detention was never meant to be pleasurable, however, you found so much peace at this moment. Accompanied by the most genuine humans you knew, embraced with nothing but kindness and understanding. The staff elves got tired of watching over you and soon left to pursue their kitchen duties. You were all alone and had - what seemed to be - all the time in the world.
“And so,” Lestrange started. “I’ve seen you and Newt argue with Slytherin seniors last week. What was all that about?”
“With all due respect, Leta, but you know how mean they can be.” You answered with merciful eyes. “One of them seemed to have a problem with us going into Forbidden Forest. And when I tried to protest, he just lost it! Started ranting on how it’s obvious we are Hufflepuff students since we won’t hurt a fly…”
“I mean,” Newt interjected. “He wasn’t that far from the truth. But what was all that rudeness for!”
You carefully studied the boy’s face as he went on to explain the circumstances of the quarrel to Leta. Freckles were scattered under his eyes and around his cheeks. You never saw him as close as you did now. The minuscule spots of melanin framed his features like the constellations did upon starry night skies. The wizard’s fringe gracefully rested against his forehead and his brows furrowed during the more passionate parts of the conversation. He had pale, rosy skin that wrinkled around the down eyelid area when he smiled. And oh, how you loved those hazel eyes that always seemed to find their way toward the floor. You were pulled out of your trance by gentle tapping on the shoulder.
“Hello!” You heard a sweet voice calling you back to reality. “Earth to Y/N!”
“Yes, yes, I’m here!” You cleared your throat.
“You know…” Newt stated. “This has to be the weirdest place I’ve ever spent my birthday in.”
“It’s your birthday?!” You and Leta replied almost simultaneously.
“February 24th.”
“You should have told us that sooner!” Leta continued the speech, as you sat there a bit taken aback and flustered.
“Why? So you guys could bake me a cake?” He proposed ironically.
You thought about it for a second and came up with a perfect answer. “No, so we could steal it from the kitchen. Hell, we could have convinced one of the elves to bring it here themselves!”
He grinned cheerfully. “And how would you bribe them?”
“Oh, and did you forget about the magizoologist we have here? I bet they have an ace up their sleeve!” Leta chuckled, pointing in your direction.
You snorted loudly and the whole chamber filled with sonorous laughs.